Skip to main content

Apparatus Architecture - Lawrence Residence

Image
By
Apparatus Architecture
Lawrence Residence

The H shape provides an ideal layout for houses, as discussed in my post about Michelle Kauffmann’s Breeze house. Apparatus Architects have a fine H here with dining and kitchen in one wing and then a living area connecting to the bedrooms and study in the other. I’m sure my wife would be well into the traditional crisscross glazed doors and sloped roof, something a lot of the houses I enjoy lack. On a plus side, each room opens to either the front or back courtyard and the kitchen’s back door lead out to a sheltered courtyard for breakfast and the BBQ (unfortunately gas).

The earth construction also appeals to me, not the exposed beams of the roof, but the solidity of the foot plus thick walls and the permanent feel of the structure. Not a classical Rammed Earth structure, this build uses PISE, stabilised earth construction, which is just with a little cement added to hold it together. This house would definitely store heat in the floors and walls. Topping off the thick walls, the rear pond and front courtyard pool would help regulate temperatures in summer.

The colours also work. The subtle shades on the roof, the earthy brown walls that reflect the surrounding colours are complemented by the simply varnished timber doorframes and windowsills. The bathroom also has a unique draining system with black pebbles surrounding wooden platforms, a classy contrast, although probably hard to maintain.















Via: www.apparatus.com
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Andrew Lister - Hughes Kinugawa House

By
Andrew Lister Hughes Kinugawa House Overlooking an estuary in Waterview, Auckland, New Zealand, this house has great northern views out over the bay. Like its owners, a wonderful blend of Japanese and New Zealand culture the house sings compact Japanese simplicity with a green Kiwi bach twist. Inconspicuously blending in with the surrounding garden of imported succulents, cacti and mature local trees, the raw cedar weatherboards are a greener take on the vernacular white weatherboard planks common throughout NZ. The house consists of two cubes, connected by a wide corridor housing the bathroom and toilet. The bigger brother of the two cubes holding: the eat-in kitchen, living come library and a guest loft above. Double height windows bathe the living area with light, complementing the dark bookshelves and making an optimum reading nook for the couple, which are obviously book fanatics. This part of the house, designed for guests and entertaining has a slightly more Kiwi feel about it...
Post a Comment
Read more

Arthur Casas - House in Iporanga

By
Arthur Casas House in Iporanga Thanks to Arthur, Kelen and the team at Arthur Casas , I’ve received an early Christmas present to share with you all. The Immaculate “House in Iporanga” and a new addition to tags, Architect’s Own Houses. “I always wanted a house in the middle of the forest, in a place where I could relax and recharge my energy”, says Arthur. In the form of two large symmetrical cubes embracing an open space, this house was idealised as his dream house. Arthur’s aim was interiors in total synergy with exteriors. Bringing the outside in are 11 meter floor to ceiling glass windows, on both ends of the open central space. Cumaru wood paneling runs from top to bottom in an attempt to match and blend in with is beautiful surroundings “…as if this were ever 100% possible” admits Arthur. As the Cumaru extends into the house, sterile white stucco contrasts, highlighting the wood’s warm color. This simple brown and white palette provides a nice canvas for interesting/...
12 comments
Read more

Hiroaki Ohtani - Kobe Layer House

By
Hiroaki Ohtani Kobe Layer House Continuing the last posts stripy theme, which is about all these houses have in common, despite the Japanese link. This is Hiroaki Ohtani solution to infill in Japan. The house is made up of pre-cast concrete strips, stacked unevenly to allow stairs, furniture and floors to be inserted in the gaps. It's tight, claustrophobic, yet entirely open. There are no internal doors, apart from the sliding doors to the toilet. Passing the tree in the courtyard, that brings irregualar form to this oterwise linear exterior, you enter on a landing, where you can either traverse to the bedroom, or head downstairs to the basement where a formal dining room and bathroom are housed. Climbing up you reach the living room and galley kitchen with a steep set of stairs taking you to the roof deck, of which half is a glazed panel to bathe the main stairwell with light. The front of the house is a larged glass panel to let more light into the house and the r...
3 comments
Read more